First Night in a New Home
by Zyra M
Summary: Han and Leia's first night in their new apartment together. Previously published on the Han and Leia Fanfic Writer's blog.


_**A/N: Response to a challenge to write a Han and Leia story that involves: An accident, an apology, and a promise. Enjoy!**_

The _Millennium Falcon _raced towards Coruscant with an urgency that would make one believe that lives were at stake. For once, that was not the case.

Han Solo slapped away his copilot Chewbacca's furry paw as the Wookiee reached over in an attempt to decelerate. "We're not comin' in too hot," the Corellian stubbornly insisted. "I'm tellin' ya, we're fine."

Chewbacca roared in disagreement, but seemed to realize that he would not be able to convince his partner.

"Sorry, Pal. It's been a few weeks."

Chewie rolled his eyes. In the scant few months since the end of the war, the Wookiee had grown impatient with his friend's behavior regarding a certain princess who would also soon become his wife. Han had started acting like some lovesick teenager whenever he was away from Leia, and while Chewie was happy for the couple, their behavior at times was irritating.

Now that things had settled down, Han and Leia had decided to purchase a permanent apartment on Coruscant, and that night would be their first together in their new home. This was why the Corellian was pushing speeds usually reserved for evasive maneuvers rather than landing on what was now a friendly port. Chewie knew Han could handle it as it was nothing he hadn't done before, but it wasn't the kind of thing most sane pilots did unless they were being shot at.

The two ex-smugglers had somehow been roped into helping Lando with a few things on one of his latest schemes, which left Han Solo without his princess for a little longer than he would've liked. But she had been off helping negotiate trade routes for the New Republic, so it turned out his absence wouldn't have been noticed. But she was due to return the same day, and Han couldn't wait to spend that night and every night thereafter with her.

Han heard Chewie growl much more insistently in his ear and finally relented. "All right, all right. I'll slow down. Happy?" Moving his hands across the console, the ship slowed considerably. "Just make sure to tell Leia that _you're_ the reason I'm late."

Chewie agreed and the two spacers made their way to what had become the permanent docking bay for the _Falcon._

Once they landed and powered down, Han could finally make out the petite brunette standing at the edge of the hangar, waiting for his return with a big smile on her face. Han was so anxious to see her that he nearly forgot to shut down the engines before heading for the exit ramp; stopping to grab a duffel bag he'd packed with some clothes and toiletries along the way.

Once the ramp was lowered, he could hardly keep himself from running to her, but she helped by closing some of the distance herself before flinging her arms around his neck and pulling him into a long, deep kiss.

He dropped the bag, pulled her close and pressed his face into her neck, inhaling the sweet scent of her perfume. "I missed you."

"Not as much as I missed you," Leia replied, squeezing him with all of the strength her arms possessed.

Han moved away just enough to look into her eyes. "I doubt that."

Chewie roared from the background and Leia looked over Han's shoulder and laughed. "I missed you, too, Chewie."

"Get ready to miss him again because he's takin' the _Falcon_ back to Kashyyyk for a few days while we break in the new place."

Chewie came over and ruffled the hair of his human companions before Leia said, "Thank you for bringing him back in one piece again, Chewie."

Chewie growled in response. "All right, pal. I know you're anxious to get back, so don't worry about us. We'll see you next week?"

Chewie nodded and Leia moved in to hug the Wookiee. "You be careful. Although I know that's a lot easier when Han isn't the one in the pilot's chair."

"Hey!" Han protested.

"You know it's true."

"Fine. Take care of my ship, ya hear me? And be glad I'm not asking you to help us move in."

Chewie growled once again and walked back up the boarding ramp, quickly piloting the ship back into the atmosphere.

Han turned back to Leia, still nestled up against his side with an arm around his waist while they walked toward the hangar door. "So, when did you get back?" Han asked.

"Less than an hour ago. I haven't even had a chance to go home yet."

Han smiled at the way she was already calling it home even though they hadn't yet spent a night there. "Well, let's go home together then, shall we?"

She gave him a squeeze. "I like that idea."

Han drove their speeder toward the building that housed their new apartment. They had spent some time picking out new furniture since neither had anything, and Han had arranged for it all to be delivered and set up in time for their return. He'd never had to furnish an entire living space before, and there seemed to be a lot more to it than he realized. But he was pretty sure they'd taken care of everything, and had at least been smart enough to pay extra for it all to be set up and installed for them, rather than trying their patience by attempting to put things together themselves. He couldn't wait to see how everything looked in their own place.

Han held their bags in one hand and Leia's hand in the other as they walked from the speeder to the entrance; still getting used to always having a beautiful woman on his arm but loving every second of it.

Once they made it to their floor, Han paused in front of the door. "You know, sweetheart, I hear that a man's supposed to carry his woman over the threshold of their new home."

"I think that's supposed to happen after they're married."

He pulled her close and then scooped her up into his arms. "We're close enough. And after we make it official maybe I'll just do it again."

Leia laughed and Han palmed the door open and took only one step inside before he put Leia back down on her feet, staring open-mouthed at their vast living room illuminated by the window covering an entire wall.

"Um, Han? Why is our new apartment still completely empty?"

"Son of a-" he slapped his hand against his forehead and left it over his eyes, doing a mental check of how his conversation with the movers had gone and groaning as he realized his error. "I think I might've accidentally told them next week."

"Well, this is very cozy. Nice job, hotshot. Didn't anybody ever tell you how to read a calendar? We can't even sleep on the _Falcon_ because Chewie took it. We could ask Luke."

"What, and have a slumber party at your brother's tiny little place? Leia, I don't know about you, but I had some pretty fun ideas for our reunion, and sleeping on your brother's couch is going to make most of them impossible."

"Well, did any of them involve no furniture? Because that's all we're left with here. Maybe you can try and comm them and see if they'll still come deliver our things."

Han glanced at his chrono. "Those guys never work this late."

"Well, maybe we should just rent a room for the night."

"Sweetheart, I was really looking forward to our first night in our new apartment."

Leia sighed. "So was I, but we can't stay here without anywhere to sit or sleep."

Han looked down at her and his expression finally softened. "Sure we can."

"Be serious, Han. I'm not sleeping in the middle of the floor."

"Why not? And who said anything about sleeping?"

"Well, if that's what you're after, just think of the rug burn."

Han laughed, remembering again how much he loved this woman. "Well, all we have to do is run out and pick up a few little essentials and I guarantee that we'll have a memorable first night in our new home. Whad'ya say?

She turned to face him, then slid a hand along his cheek until it rested against the back of his head. "I say let's make it happen." She pulled him in for a kiss. "As long as you promise to call and get our things delivered tomorrow. I love you, but I am not willing to live as a refugee for any longer than I have to."

"Deal. Let's go get this little shopping trip out of the way so we can start the reunion the way I've been planning."

She grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the door. "Sounds good to me. Let's go."

In less than an hour the couple had acquired just enough to get them through the night. A couple of pillows, blankets, two towels, a small lamp and some dinner. Each at least had a bag with some clothes and toothbrushes; although Han had insisted that no clothes would be required.

Han had lain out the blankets and pillows in a sort of nest in the middle of the main living area in front of the vast window overlooking the city skyline. He'd kicked off his boots, shrugged off his jacket and sat down among the pile before holding his hand out to Leia.

"Care to join me, sweetheart?"

Leia reached out and took his hand. "I'd love to." Stepping over the outer wall of pillows, she sat down next to her soon-to-be husband and leaned up against his side, resting her head on his shoulder as his arm snaked around her.

"I told you we could make this work," he said.

"And you were right. Just don't get used to it."

"Any ideas on how we could pass the time?"

"Something tells me that you have plenty of ideas of your own."

He smiled down at her. "You're right about that," he replied before leaning down and kissing her and lowering her down to the blankets, determined to give her more than one reason to never forget their first night in their new apartment.

A while later, Han rolled Leia off him so she was lying by his side and then pulled the blankets up to cover their now-naked bodies, pulling her close once again. "I think I'm going to like living here with you," Han said, still almost breathless.

Leia ran her fingers through the sweat-soaked strands of hair at the back of his neck. "I love you, Han," Leia said simply.

He leaned in and kissed her neck. "I love you, Leia."

Han rolled on top of her once again, kissing along her collar bone and already wanting to continue their reunion. Her response was unmistakable as her hands gripped at his back. "Gods, Han. If this is what it's going to be like every night I think both of our day jobs are in jeopardy."

"I'm willing to risk it," he responded between kisses.

"I suppose I shouldn't be worried," Leia responded while Han was paying her neck close attention. "Once we become an old, boring married couple I'm sure you'll be tired of me."

Han stopped what he was doing and immediately pulled back to look into Leia's eyes, able to tell she was only half joking. He reached up and stroked her long hair away from her face. "Sweetheart, no matter what happens, you have to know that I will never, _ever_ get tired of you."

"Sure, it's easy to say that now."

He brought a finger to her lips. "Easy to say it because it's true. Sweetheart, I only want _you_ for the rest of my life."

Leia reluctantly smiled. "You promise?"

He nodded his head. "I promise. What about you?"

Leia looked confused. "Me?"

"Yeah, you. I figure if either one of us is going to be worried in this situation, it's probably me. Do you promise you won't get sick of me?"

She smiled again and brought her hand up to cup his cheek. "Han, if I haven't gotten rid of you yet, it's probably safe to say that I'm going to want you to stick around forever. Especially considering the fact that I'm willing to stay here with you even if it means sleeping on the floor."

"Yeah, sorry about that. I swear I'll fix it tomorrow. Now that we've gotten that out of the way…" he moved to kiss her once again, and it wasn't until just before dawn that they finally fell into an exhausted sleep.

Leia awoke first, opening her eyes to see Han's face half buried in the pillow next to hers, the blanket pulled up under his arm while he slept peacefully. It was certainly not the first time she'd awakened with the ex-smuggler sleeping next to her, but it was the first time it had happened in a place that was theirs - not just his or hers. It wasn't _his_ ship, it wasn't _her_ quarters, it was _their _new home, and she couldn't help but smile.

_I could get used to this_, she thought, then brought her hand up to rest against his warm cheek, now rough with stubble. Her touch caused him to stir and she saw the hazel in his eyes before he smiled back at her. "Good morning, your beautifulness," he said.

"Hmmm... that's a new one."

"I got a million of 'em saved up. Gotta keep things interesting if I'm going to have to keep you happy for the rest of my life."

"Works for me," she said before he leaned in and kissed her gently.

"I'd cook you breakfast, sweetheart, but I think we forgot to buy food."

"That's ok. We don't have anything to cook with anyway."

They laughed then, and Leia couldn't get over the ridiculousness of their situation; lying on the floor in a few blankets in the middle of their large apartment like some poor, newlywed couple. They would soon be newlyweds, but poverty was something she was fairly certain they'd never have to endure. She knew Han had experienced it before and was glad that she'd be able to make sure that he wouldn't have to go through it again.

Leia leaned in and held him close, closing her eyes against his chest. "Please tell me I don't have to go to work today."

Han's response was immediate. "You don't have to go to work today. You don't ever have to go back again. We can just stay here as long as you want," he replied before kissing her forehead.

"As much as I'd love for that to be the case, I really should get ready to go. Are you going to stay here and wait for our things to be delivered? You _are _going to get the movers to come today, right?"

"Of course. I'll take care of it."

"Good. Now I need to go and take a quick shower and get going."

"I'll stay here and watch you walk away," Han said, and Leia turned back to see him sitting bare-chested in the nest of blankets and pillows with a goofy grin on his face. It made her wonder how difficult it would be to get things done now that they were living together, but she blew him a kiss and headed for the 'fresher.

Once clean, she had just wrapped the towel around herself when she heard a loud thud and Han yelling in pain. "Han?" Opening the door, she ran out to find him writhing on the floor in the kitchen. She bent down next to him. "What happened?"

Han was cradling his left wrist while his face was scrunched in pain. "I had a little accident."

She reached out and gently took his injured appendage between her hands. "I can see that. How, exactly?"

"I turned on the faucet and water sprayed all over me and when I went to grab a towel I slipped and fell on my wrist."

Leia wanted to be sympathetic, she really did. But seeing Han naked and writhing in pain in the middle of their kitchen floor made her unable to suppress the laughter.

Han gave her an annoyed look. "I'm glad to see you're so concerned."

"I'm sorry, Han. It's just you… lying there… without…" she started laughing again.

"Next time I find you lying on the floor in pain like this I'll be sure to laugh at you, too."

He snatched his wrist away from her and rolled to his side to get up, but Leia placed a steadying hand on his back. "Oh, come on, Han. I'm sorry."

"No, you're not," Han replied.

"I really am sorry, Han. Come on. Forgive me?"

He turned his head to look at her just as her hand slid down his back toward his rear and she saw his expression change as she gently caressed him. "You make it pretty hard for a guy to stay mad, you know that?"

"That's what I was counting on," she said as she took his injured wrist in her hand, brought it to her lips and kissed it. "Is that better?"

"A little." He paused and then looked up into her eyes before he spoke again. "I think I bumped my head a little, too," he said, pointing to a spot above his eye.

She leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss where his finger had been. "Better?" She asked as she looked into his eyes.

"Almost perfect," he said before leaning in and kissing her on the lips. She kissed him back and really wanted nothing more than to continue, but she really did have to get to work.

"Han," she said between kisses, then finally pulled away from him. "Can you hold that thought until I get home this afternoon? I assume we'll even have some furniture by then."

He looked disappointed, but quickly relented, nodding his silent approval. "Help me up?"

She smiled and stood, then lowered her hand to his good one and helped him to his feet. "You sure you're all right?" she asked again.

"I'll be fine."

She stood on her tiptoes to kiss him and pulled back to say, "I'll be back at 0500. I want you in that same outfit when I come back."

"I can manage that. I think I'm going to like living with you, princess."

"I feel the same way, Han," she replied before kissing him one last time and going to get dressed. "I feel the same way."


End file.
